


No, You Can't Date A Sociopath

by GeekLover



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Established Relationship, M/M, Secret Relationship, Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-06
Updated: 2014-11-06
Packaged: 2018-02-23 11:48:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2546435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeekLover/pseuds/GeekLover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Stiles finds out about Isaac and Scott's secret relationship, his first reaction isn't to wish the couple well - he faints. And then it only gets worse from there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No, You Can't Date A Sociopath

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TW Fall Harvest Community](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=TW+Fall+Harvest+Community).



> Warning for underage sex between minors and also mentions of past abuse.

Amy Matthews. Hannah Carter. Carly Gibson. These were just some of the girls who came in and out of Scott’s life in the sixth grade. He spent a bit of time being something of a ladies’ man. Stiles had guessed that it was the wounded puppy dog look he had going on after his parents split up. Though, honestly, Scott always looked like a puppy.

Not that Stiles was trying to rain on his friend’s parade. He was actually happy for him. He needed a lot of extra cheering up during that time, and anything that could brighten Scott’s day was a good thing. And, selfishly, Stiles figured if Scott was lucky in love eventually it would trickle down to him - not that it ever worked out that way.

Stiles was never jealous when Scott got a girlfriend. New friends, however, were a different story. When Scott got a new friend in the fifth grade, and invited him everywhere, Stiles hated the kid, even though the boy, Kyle, was perfectly nice. _Painfully_ nice. So nice, Stiles felt guilty for hating him, but hate him, he did.

During the summer after sixth grade, Scott had to go to summer school and his mom had insisted he get a tutor. Danny Mahealani had volunteered to help. 

They had never really hung out with Danny or spoke to him often, even though they’d basically been going to school together their whole lives. But after that summer, Scott and Danny became nearly inseparable. Danny had shared a few of his computer skills with Scott and they’d spent so much time playing computer games. 

Scott had always made an effort to include Stiles, but he’d still always felt uncomfortable, as if he were a third wheel. He and Danny had a somewhat prickly relationship and Stiles hated how his usual sarcastic comments and jokes didn’t get under Danny’s skin. He just gave it right back.

Scott and Danny grew apart, with a bit of a push from Stiles. Well, more than a little push. Stiles wasn’t exactly proud of this, but he’d started a rumor that Scott had head lice. It was juvenile and wrong but it had done the trick. Danny’s mom freaked out and he stopped coming over to Scott’s house. After that he and Scott just got used to not spending time together, like it had been before.

Stiles was happy to have his friend back. Danny was the last male friend Scott had made. Until now.

 

~*~

Stiles grumbled when he called Scott for the fifth time and it still went to voicemail. They were supposed to have a “guy’s night in” where they did their annual _X-Men_ marathon. It was finally going to be just the two of them, no third wheels allowed, which meant that one Isaac Lahey would not be invited.

Stiles pocketed his phone and decided to head to Scott’s anyway. It’s not like they had some kind of appointment. He couldn’t help grumbling about “stupid Isaac” when he got into his Jeep.

Ever since the night of that stupid rave, Scott’s opinion about Isaac started to change. After everyone’s final confrontation with Gerard Argent his relationship with Isaac seemed to change overnight. Suddenly, Scott started calling Isaac “friend” and they spent a lot of time together. 

Isaac was like an infection that spread fast and invaded every part of their lives. Everywhere Stiles and Scott went, there was Isaac. It didn’t help when Deaton had inexplicably given Isaac a job, so Scott and Isaac seemed to be joined at the hip day and night.

Stiles had protested. He didn’t care if Isaac had come to the rescue when Stiles couldn’t be there for Scott. One unselfish act didn’t change all of the crap Isaac had helped put them through, but Scott insisted that they didn’t really know Isaac. 

Stiles really couldn’t understand it. Other than not trying to kill Scott and his friends, Stiles didn’t notice anything different about Isaac. He was still a smart-ass who needled Stiles every chance he got.

Stiles figured that Scott was still messed up over his, seemingly final, break-up with Allison and was looking to fill that void with a new friend, even one as unworthy as Isaac. Plus, Scott was such a softie and really felt sorry for Isaac and his, Stiles would admit, beyond messed up childhood. 

Things became even more insane when Melissa allowed Isaac to stay at their house. Stiles didn’t know why Isaac’s own Alpha couldn’t house his werewolf ass, but Scott had insisted Isaac didn’t have any other options.

Despite Isaac’s pervasive presence, Stiles decided he wasn’t going to do anything, even though this had gone on longer than he had anticipated. Even with Isaac living at Scott’s, their bond seemingly stronger than ever, Stiles was still confident Scott would eventually wake-up and realize the kind of person Isaac really was. Then Isaac would be out of their lives and Stiles would have his friend back. It was just a matter of time.

~*~

Scott giggled. An honest to goodness giggle that he thought made him sound like a twelve year old girl. But he couldn’t help it as Isaac tickled his feet. 

When Isaac reached behind him for his feet for the second time, Scott giggled again and tried to swat at his hands. “Come on, Isaac,” Scott said in almost petulant whine. “Don’t you have more important things to be doing?”

Isaac grinned. “That’s true.” He leaned forward and put his hands on Scott’s chest and ground down on Scott’s cock. 

Scott threw his head back against his pillow and moaned.

God, Scott couldn’t get enough of being with Isaac. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly when his relationship and his feelings for Isaac changed. After he broke up with Allison, he had truly been prepared to wait for her as long as it took. His feelings for her were so real and so strong, he couldn’t even conceive of anyone else evoking those same things in him. And then Isaac happened.

Isaac was there for Scott when it really counted. Yes, Isaac had done a lot of bad things when he first became a werewolf, but Scott knew, more than anyone, how messed up that kind of transition could make you, especially when you’re already messed up thanks to an abusive father. Scott’s claws came out whenever he thought of Mr. Lahey. He’d never felt that kind of rage before. Whenever he thought about what Isaac went through, he wanted to reanimate his dad’s corpse and torture him, slowly and painfully.

Even though not everyone, especially not Stiles, seemed to get it, he knew that Isaac wasn’t a bad person. He was still a work in progress, still trying to figure out who he was, beyond being his dad’s favorite punching bag. Isaac had made mistakes, colossal mistakes sometimes, but at his core Scott knew he was a good person. 

He had seen it these past few months. He saw it every time a new puppy would come to Deaton’s and Isaac was the first one to bond with it. He was so gentle and loving when he bathed them. And he was the first person to cry every time one of the abandoned pets found a new home. The first time Scott had ever held Isaac was after an abused border collie that Isaac had bonded with particularly had found new parents. 

Scott could tell it was a mix of sadness and happiness. Isaac had tried to hide his tears, but Scott could see, feel, and smell all of the confused, tangled emotions Isaac was feeling. It felt natural to wrap him up in his arms.

It wasn’t just the animals, either. Isaac had formed a bond with Scott’s mom as well. Whenever Isaac was over their house, when Melissa would drag herself in after a twelve hour shift, Scott would cook, and Isaac would volunteer to give her a foot rub or anything else she needed. Whenever Scott would go over to the hospital to give Melissa some food, Isaac would tag along. He’d even take the initiative to do it himself when Scott had a shift at the clinic and Isaac was free.

Isaac was so open with him about his past that Scott felt it was only fair to reciprocate, soon talking to him about everything and anything felt so easy. They talked about their fathers. They talked about their favorite childhood memories. It made Scott happy to realize that Isaac’s entire life wasn’t always the nightmare it had become at the end. They talked about school and how they both felt like they weren’t living up to their potential. They talked about lacrosse. They talked about their favorite movies. Other than Stiles and Allison, he’d never felt so comfortable and happy with anyone.

Even though he’d never thought about being with another guy before, when Isaac kissed him for the first time, Scott didn’t push him away. He was startled and hesitated for a split second but he melted into it quickly. It felt so amazing and so right that Scott didn’t really stop to question it. He just wanted more.

Whenever Scott fell for someone, he fell hard. His whole being became consumed with that person. It had happened with Allison and it was happening with Isaac. He couldn’t get enough of Isaac’s perfect soft lips kissing him all over. He craved Isaac’s touch all the time. He wanted to be inside him and hear him moan his name constantly.

Scott and Isaac had made the decision to keep their new relationship a secret. But Scott couldn’t get enough of having Isaac’s scent all over him. Luckily, they didn’t hang out with too many werewolves who would be able to pick up on it. Scott was mortified enough with the knowing looks Derek gave them sometimes.

He’d convinced his mother, though it didn’t take much convincing, to let Isaac stay with them. He didn’t really do it just so he could have easy access to sex. Both Isaac and Scott were trying to rebuild their relationships with Derek. Derek was really trying to be a better alpha and Scott was willing to put aside their differences in the past. But one thing he wasn’t willing to overlook was Peter’s continued presence in the Hale house. 

Of course the extra sex wasn’t something Scott would complain about. Being woken up by Isaac giving him a thorough, mind-blowing blowjob - like he had been that morning - was amazing. 

The sex was so unbelievable. He was sure every single time he would pass out from the strength of his orgasms. 

Currently, Isaac was above him and set a slow, languorous pace as he rode him as if he had all the time in the world. Distantly, Scott could see that his phone was vibrating, but his mind was too caught up in the feelings that Isaac was invoking to really register it. 

Isaac put a finger under Scott’s chin and lifted his face up. “Look at me.” He swiveled his hips slowly as he ground down on him.

Scott gripped his hips and groaned.

Isaac leaned forward and sucked bruising kisses into Scott’s neck. He kissed his way up and lingered above, just out of reach of Scott’s lips.

When Scott leaned up to kiss him, Isaac rocked backwards and used his hands on Scott’s knees to leverage himself up and came down hard.

“Fuck!” Scott cursed.

Isaac picked up the pace and rode him relentlessly. “So…fucking...good!” He said between pants.

Scott skimmed his hands up Isaac’s sweaty chest. His hands slowly traveled to Isaac’s back and soon Scott surged forward and held Isaac to him as he thrust up into him.

Isaac kissed him with a hunger Scott easily reciprocated. He swept his tongue into Scott’s mouth and his moans were muffled. He ripped his mouth away and Scott could see his eyes change color. His head fell backwards as he let out a guttural growl and came all over Scott’s chest, screaming out Scott’s name.

Scott pushed a still shuddering Isaac onto his back and thrust into him roughly several more times before his own orgasm overtook him. He buried his face in Isaac’s neck as he whimpered his name. 

It took several minutes for them both to come down off their sex high. Scott pulled out of Isaac and fell onto his back.

Isaac crawled over and nestled his head against Scott’s chest. Scott soon put his arm around him and gathered him closer. 

Isaac sighed. “I swear one of these days we’re going to break the bed and your mom is going to kill me.”

Scott nodded slowly in a daze. “Probably.” He looked down at Isaac and carded his hand through Isaac’s sweaty hair. “God, you’re good at that. You should do it, like, professionally.” Scott winced immediately.

Isaac just chuckled and kissed Scott’s shoulder. 

Scott was sure Isaac was used to him saying random dumb things sometimes, especially after sex when his brain was more than a little muddled.

“Well, I’ve never actually given a future in porn serious thought, but I’m sure having sex professionally isn’t all bad. Or were you thinking more like prostitution?” Isaac teased.

Scott laughed and playfully nipped Isaac’s shoulder. “Neither. You can’t have sex with anyone other than me - ever.”

Isaac looked up at Scott with a big grin and kissed him. 

Scott was happy with how much more openly affectionate Isaac was becoming. He wished he felt comfortable enough yet to reveal their relationship. He wished they could be like this all the time - besides the naked part.

Isaac drew small circles on Scott’s chest with his finger. “Do you ever think about that?”

“A career in sex work?” Scott chuckled.

Isaac poked him in the side. “No. Have you thought about your future, what you're going to do for the rest of your life?”

Scott pursed his lips as he pondered the question. A memory suddenly came to him and let out a small chuckle. “Yeah.” He laughed again and shook his head at the memory. “Stiles and I used to talk about starting our own rock band. We were thirteen. Stiles figured we both really love those bands and that type of music and it would be a fun, creative job.”

“And?” Isaac said with a knowing grin.

Scott returned the grin. “And those guys always get a ton of girls.” Isaac nodded and laughed. “I would be the lead singer and Stiles would play guitar. We’d find the other members later. We saved up and bought guitars and even this sick drum set.” Scott closed his eyes and bit his lip to keep from laughing. “But I’d never actually practiced singing. So we decided I should practice and when I started singing, both of us, just automatically cringed. By the time I was done, Stiles had his hands over his ears and looked like he was in actual pain.”

Isaac dropped his head on Scott’s chest and began to laugh. 

“Stiles’ exact words were ‘You have a voice that would make Satan weep.’”

Isaac barked out a laugh and looked up at Scott, who joined in.

Isaac wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. “So I guess your plans for a career in music are dead?”

“Pretty much. I’m fine with it. I was never very interested in being musician,” Scott explained.

“Yeah.” Isaac got a wicked gleam in his eye. “Though I think you’d look really hot with some guy liner and some leather pants.” He waggled his eyebrows at Scott.

Scott grinned and put his hand on Isaac’s chest and pushed him down on the bed as he loomed over him. “Leather. Is that a kink of yours?”

“Maybe.” Isaac tried to sound nonchalant, but had trouble pulling that off as he stared with laser focus at Scott’s lips.

Scott playfully kissed him. He worried Isaac’s bottom lip with his teeth and then pulled back and smiled at him. He knew as a teenager he would have sex on the brain constantly, but he was starting to think Isaac was turning him into a nymphomaniac.

Before things could heat up again, Scott climbed off of Isaac and lay back down next to him. After a moment of silence, he twisted his head in Isaac’s direction. “What about you? Have you made any future plans?”

Isaac inhaled deeply and put his hands over Scott’s chest and rested his chin on his hands. “I’ve never really thought about it much. It’s kind of hard to make future plans when you’re worried about never having one.”

Scott closed his eyes and resisted the urge to say he was sorry. He’d said he was sorry so many times when the subject of Isaac’s abuse came up. It didn’t mean much at this point and it didn’t really help Isaac. Scott just pressed a tender to kiss to Isaac’s forehead.

“I have no idea what I want to do with the rest of my life,” Isaac said softly.

“You know that’s okay,” Scott assured him in a steady voice. “We’re only 16. We don’t have to have the rest of our lives planned. I know I’m still not sure what exactly it is I want to do.”

“But you probably want to do something with Stiles?” Isaac prodded.

“I don’t know.” Scott shrugged. “That would be great. He’s my best friend and I would love to be able to do something where we got to spend time together and nothing would have to change. But I doubt that’s going to happen. Stiles is a lot smarter than I am. He’s going to do something really great with his life.”

“Hey!” Isaac waited until Scott looked at him. “You’re smart, Scott. You are going to have a great future, with or without Stiles.

Scott felt another wave of affection for Isaac and reached up and stroked his cheek. He gave him a brief peck on the nose. “Speaking of Stiles, I think he’s going to be here soon.”

Scott twisted away from Isaac and turned to crawl toward his phone on the nightstand. After a bit of a struggle to reach it, he grasped the small phone. But before he could look at it, Isaac pounced onto his back.

Isaac pressed his crotch down against Scott’s ass. He was already half hard again. “Just give me five minutes.”

Scott’s head dropped and he groaned. “Isaac…” He made the mistake of twisting his head around and gazing into Isaac’s beautiful blue eyes. He met Isaac in the middle and their lips met in a soft kiss that Isaac quickly deepened.

Scott pulled back briefly. “Five minutes.” He kissed Isaac again. “Ten minutes, tops.” He tossed his phone onto the nightstand again.

~*~

As Isaac trudged down the stairs, he thought for the thousandth time how much he hated this sneaking around stuff. There was a little bit of a thrill having this secret that was just between the two of them and it was fun thinking they were doing something a little naughty, but for the most part it was just a pain in the ass.

Isaac had agreed to it for several reasons. He knew that Scott only suggested it for good reasons. He knew that Scott wasn’t ashamed of him. Scott just wanted to keep this something that was just for the two of them, that they didn’t have to share with anyone else. They also didn’t want to deal with awkward questions and people judging them. And by people, he really meant-

Another insistent knock. 

Speak of the devil. 

God, Stiles was really impatient. Isaac took his sweet time, partly in the hopes to give Scott time to get dressed and hastily clean up his room from any tell-tale signs of their sex-filled morning. Mostly, though, he wanted to piss Stiles off.

Isaac didn’t even hate Stiles. He could understand why Stiles would have a problem with him. He knew that he would hate someone if they terrorized him and tried to kill him. Even though he empathized with Stiles, every time he thought about trying to be nicer to Stiles, he would give some kind of smart-ass remark and Isaac couldn’t help responding in kind.

Isaac had done a lot of dumb, downright horrible things when he first got the bite. He’d taken all of that rage he felt at how he had grown up and turned it against others around him. He had become the kind of bully that he hated and never wanted to be.

But he wanted to make amends for what he’d done. He’d apologized to everyone and hoped that they could forgive him when they saw how much he was really trying to be better. He knew it would take some time.

One of the great things about being with Scott was that he realized the kind of person he wanted to be. He was able to find a better balance in his life. He could be confident without having to tear others down. But he also didn’t have to lie down and take any crap from anyone who tried to push him around. Especially short, possessive, know-it-alls, like Stiles.

As he got to the door, Isaac took a deep breath. Maybe he and Stiles could at least be somewhat civil this time. Certainly stranger things had happened in Beacon Hills.

~*~

Stiles was just about to knock again when the door was finally opened. He stumbled a little then recoiled when he saw who was on the other side of the door. He narrowed his eyes at the lanky irritant standing before him, just seeing Isaac immediately set his teeth on edge.

“You again?” Stiles groaned. “Ugh, is there ever going to be a time where you’re not standing on the other side of that door?”

“You know I wonder the same thing myself,” Isaac said without missing a beat.

“Oh, so you’re sick of yourself, too?”

Isaac held his stomach and pretended to laugh. “That’s hilarious. How are comedy writers everywhere not beating a path to your door?”

Stiles grinned thinly. “It’s a mystery for the ages.” 

Isaac dropped the fake smile and crossed his arms over his chest. “What are you doing here so early?”

Stiles didn’t bother to give Isaac an answer; he just shoved his shoulder into Isaac’s chest and barreled past him. “Why do you need to know? Are you going to announce my presence? Are you the butler now? Because, I got to say, that would finally explain what you’re doing here.”

Isaac just rolled his eyes heavenward.

Stiles knew that Isaac and he could go back and forth like this all day. A part of him kind of enjoyed it...a _really_ small part.

As he looked at Isaac he noticed for the first time that Isaac seemed out of breath and his forehead was a little sweaty. 

“I only asked because you’re a little early for your sleepover with Scott.” Isaac explained.

Stiles heaved a great, big sigh. “For the last time it’s not a sleepover. It’s a-”

“Guy’s night in.” Isaac interrupted. “Yeah, I heard. Because that makes it sound so much better.” He said as he moved past Stiles.

Behind Isaac’s back, Stiles mimed strangling him. “Is Scott upstairs?”

“Uh…” Isaac stammered.

“Take your time. I know it’s a real thinker.” 

“Yes, he’s up there,” Isaac gritted out.

“Thanks.” Stiles followed Isaac up the stairs. Out of some weird need to beat Isaac in some way, Stiles sped up his movements trying to get up the stairs. He maneuvered around Isaac and paused for a second. He sniffed Isaac briefly.

“Hey,” Isaac said as he reared back. 

Stiles ignored him and sniffed again. “You smell like Scott.”

Isaac looked down and scratched the back of his neck. “What?”

“Yeah, you smell like him.” Stiles shook his head as he resumed walking. This wasn’t the first time he’d noticed this. “It’s not enough that they let you live here, now you have to take their stuff, too. First, it’s the cologne, next thing you know you’re going to be wearing each other’s...” Stiles trailed off as he opened the door to Scott’s room. “...clothes.”

A slightly bug-eyed Scott was standing in the middle of the room and he was wearing one of Isaac’s bulky sweaters.

Stiles hung his head briefly. “Seriously, dude?”

Scott shrugged weakly. “What?”

“Is that one of Isaac’s sweaters?” Stiles asked.

Scott gulped. “Yeah.” He looked around his messy room. “Mom’s been working a lot of double shifts and I haven’t really felt like doing any laundry so…”

“So you’ve decided to rummage around in Isaac’s stuff.” Stiles finished for him. 

Scott nodded. 

“I don’t know, dude.” Stiles said as he plopped down on Scott’s bed. “It’s kind of a slippery slope. First you’re wearing his sweaters. The next thing you know, you have a scarf for every occasion, too.” He smirked. He didn’t even have to look over to know that Isaac was probably giving him a one-fingered salute.

“It’s kind of comfortable,” Scott said as he smiled uneasily at Stiles and looked down at the ground.

“Whatever,” Stiles muttered. “Enough about you and your poor choice of fashion role models.” He cocked his head to the side and pointed at Scott’s hair. “Though, what’s up with your hair? Did you just roll out of bed?”

Scott’s hand went up to his hair and he patted it down. “Ugh…”

“No wonder you didn’t get any of my calls.” Stiles sat up and chuckled. “That is some of the worst bedhead I have ever seen.”

Scott rushed over to his bathroom, Stiles assumed to take care of the skyscraper growing atop his head. Isaac lingered by the door.

Stiles took out a couple of comic books from his bag. “I think it’s safe to say that you can go now, Isaac.”

Scott came out of the bathroom and stood next to Isaac. “Why would he go anywhere?”

Stiles paused. “Well...I thought Isaac was just going to go back to his room and do whatever sad thing Isaac does in his free time.” He didn’t like where this was going. It was just supposed to be a night where the two of them could hang out and be two dudes, without any werewolf crap to worry about, like it used to be. He didn’t want “the interloper” to ruin it.

“I think it would be nice to include Isaac.” Scott said. “He likes The X-Men movies, too.”

“Yeah. I haven’t seen all of them but I really liked _The Last Stand_.”

Scott winced. 

Stiles spit out. “I’m sorry what?”

“ _The Last Stand_. The third movie. It’s the only one I’ve seen all the way through and I thought it was great.”

Stiles pressed his fingers to his eyes and took a deep breath. “So, first of all when Scott says you’re a fan of the movies, that’s a lie. And secondly,” he counts off on his fingers, “seriously?”

Isaac looked between Stiles and Scott. “What? What’d I say?”

Scott put his hand on Isaac’s arm. Stiles took note of that and how close they’re standing together. “Stiles hates that movie.”

Isaac hung his head. “Of course he does.” He looked up after a moment. “Well, look it at this way, this gives you a chance to show me the other movies and tell me how wrong I was and how _The Last Stand_ is-”

“A boil on the ass of an otherwise outstanding franchise?”

Isaac and Scott nod.

Stiles sighed. While he still didn’t want Isaac weaseling his way into his and Scott’s night, he couldn’t pass up a chance to educate Isaac and show him the error of his ways. “Fine. Where are the movies?”

Scott was blank-faced.

“You didn’t get the movies out already?” Stiles asked.

Scott rubbed the back of his head. “No, sorry. Maybe you could just start with showing Isaac some of your comics?”

“Fine.” He got on his knees by Scott’s bed.

“What are you doing?” Scott said, his voice dangerously high-pitched.

“I’m going to get the movies and we can go downstairs.” He crawled a little closer to Scott’s bed. “You still keep them under your bed, right?” Stiles didn’t bother to wait for an answer. He probably knew the layout of Scott’s room, better than he knew his own. He stuck his hand under the bed.

“There’s no hurry,” Scott said as he rushed over. “Let’s have some snacks first. You show Isaac the comics and then I’ll come back up here and get the movies.”

“Or we could just do it now,” Stiles said as he rooted around under Scott’s bed. He wasn’t kidding about Melissa not being around a lot lately. It was somehow even messier, and stickier, under there than normal.

“God, Scott just because your mom hasn’t been around, it wouldn’t kill you to do a cursory sweep once every few decades.” 

Scott reached down and tried to pull Stiles away.

“Scott, what are you doing?” Stiles looked back at his friend who looked like he was about to have a panic attack. 

Just as Scott pulled him away, Stiles groped something sticky. He looked down at his hand and…

“Oh, shit!” Isaac exclaimed. He immediately turned to Scott. “Under the bed Scott, really?”

“I panicked! I threw the first one away. I didn’t have time to find the other one!”

Stiles was sure he was having an out of body experience. A crumpled, yellow, sticky condom was in his hand. Scott’s sticky condom. He was still holding Scott’s _used_ sticky condom. He let out a yelp, threw the condom down, and shuddered violently. “Oh, my God! What the fuck! I just had my hand in your-” He gagged. His hand was still held out at an awkward angle. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to compound the gross factor by wiping it on himself.

He rushed toward Isaac and swiped his hand hastily along his shirt.

He wrinkled his nose. “Look, Scott, I’m happy you’re getting laid, but…” He shuddered again.

After finally getting somewhat of a grip on his gag reflex Stiles noticed Scott and Isaac’s twin looks of embarrassment, though while slightly red-faced, Isaac looked as if he were going to burst out laughing at any moment. 

“Wait a minute…” 

Stiles finally started to put the clues together. A fresh - really fresh - condom. Isaac smelled like Scott. Scott was wearing Isaac’s shirt. Isaac was all sweaty...and Stiles noticed so was Scott… “No...You’re not…” He looked between the two of them - his best friend and his interloping, sociopath roommate. His best friend and his...lover?

Scott stepped towards Stiles and opened his mouth and closed it several times without saying anything. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let you find out like this.”

Stiles closed his eyes. “No. No. No, you can’t be.”

“But he is,” Isaac said with smug satisfaction. 

Stiles opened his eyes and glared at Isaac.

“Scott and I have kind of been having our own sleepovers.”

Stiles rubbed his forehead. He rubbed harder and harder hoping he could somehow erase this moment from his brain. He looked up warily at Scott. “You can’t be serious? You’re fucking him?” He pointed at Isaac.

“Actually we take turns.” Isaac rubbed his chin. “You know, now that I think about it, it’s possible that was my condom.” He looked at Stiles’ hand pointedly.

“You mean that I might have had my hand in your-”

“Yup.” Isaac said, stressing the “p” sound.

Stiles looked at his hand. “Alright, I need to lie down.” The last thing Stiles saw before things went dark was the stupid smirk on Isaac’s face.

~*~

In hindsight, letting Isaac slap Stiles awake probably wasn’t a good idea. But Isaac had volunteered - and really quickly - that Scott really didn’t think it through. He was still panicked over Stiles fainting. In a million years, he never thought that would be Stiles’ reaction to his and Isaac’s relationship.

As Isaac reared back to slap Stiles again, Stiles’ eyes flew open and he grasped Isaac’s hand right before it landed on his already reddening cheek. “What the hell are you doing?”

Isaac pulled his arm from Stiles’ grip. “Well, you passed out, overdramatically I might add, and we had to do something to wake you up.”

Stiles slowly sat up. He cradled his jaw. “Next time a splash of cold water will do just fine.” He put his head in his hands and took a deep breath before he stood up.

Scott stepped forward hesitantly. “Are you feeling okay, dude?”

“No, _dude_ I’m not feeling okay,” Stiles said coldly. “I just had my hand covered in jizz and found out my best friend’s been sleeping with a gigantic psychopath. A psychopath who was just getting his kicks slapping the crap out of me. No, Scott, I’m feeling very, very not okay.”

Scott sighed deeply. With Stiles already starting with the name-calling, it could only go down from there. “Isaac is not a psychopath, Stiles. I’m sorry for not telling you about this sooner. But it’s not really that big a deal.”

Stiles gaped at him and then slowly nodded. “Right. Not a big deal. It was so not a big deal that you felt the need to hide it from me, your best friend?”

Scott ran a hand slowly through his hair. Stiles did have a point, but Scott was ready for that argument. “I wasn’t ready to let anyone know. I just wanted to enjoy being with him without having a bunch of questions and without having you-

“Talk sense into you?” Stiles interrupted.

“Be a judgmental douchebag.” Isaac sneered.

Stiles shot Isaac a withering glance. He turned back to Scott. “How long has this been going on? Please, tell me this was the first time and now you’ve gotten it out of your system?

Scott shook his head. “It wasn’t the first time. We’ve been together since the beginning of summer.”

Stiles threw his hands up and practically hit his forehead. “That was like four months ago! You’ve been sleeping with _that_ ,” Stiles threw a brief, disgusted look to Isaac, “for four months?”

Scott opened his mouth to answer, but Stiles cut off his forthcoming answer.

“And what-what do you mean ‘together?’ It’s just sex. I know you’re a little naive, Scott, but just because you sleep with someone doesn’t make you a couple.”

Scott ignored Stiles’ condescending tone and took a few steps toward Stiles. His hands were partially outstretched and he felt as if he were inching closer to a bomb that was about to go off. “It’s not just sex, Stiles. We _are_ a couple.”

Stiles blinked once and then shook his head vehemently. “No.”

Scott wrinkled his forehead. “No? What do you mean ‘no’?’”

“No.” Stiles shrugged emphatically. “I don’t know how to make it any clearer. No, you can’t be with Isaac.”

“I don’t really need your permission, Stiles.” Somehow, Stiles was being more stubborn about this than Scott had thought he would be and it was starting to annoy him. “And why shouldn’t I be with him? It’s not because he’s a guy, is it?”

Stiles moved towards Scott and gripped his shoulders. “I don’t care that he’s a guy. Scott, you could sleep with every guy in Beacon Hills and it wouldn’t make a difference to me. In fact, I’d hope that you filmed it and I would watch it with a tub of popcorn, a super-sized drink, and a huge smile on my face. Okay?” Stiles looked over at Isaac, who was glaring at him, and grimaced. “You can’t be with _that_ guy. I just - I just -” Stiles pressed the palms of his hand into his eyes. “Am I the only one who remembers him terrorizing us?”

“He regrets that and he’s not the same guy anymore.” Scott said. He looked over to Isaac with a warm look. “He’s changed.”

Letting go of Scott’s shoulders, Stiles took a step back. “Scott, I’ve heard this whole ‘he’s changed’ song and dance from you before and I wasn’t buying it then and I’m not buying it now.” 

Isaac stalked towards the two of them. “Why not? You’ve never even-”

“For the love of God!” Stiles whirled around, doing a 360, as he pulled at his hair. “Is it possible for Scott and I to have two seconds alone together anymore without you constantly hovering and interrupting? Just two seconds.”

Isaac didn’t say anything but Scott could hear him growling quietly. Scott looked over at Isaac, and could see that Isaac breathing was speeding up and he could see beads of sweat on his forehead. Isaac was probably two second from wolfing out and it wouldn’t be pretty. He gave Isaac a quick nod. Separating Stiles and Isaac would be the best thing for everyone.

Isaac started to leave.

Unfortunately, Stiles couldn’t leave well enough alone. “I can see why you keep him around. He’s quite an obedient boyfriend.” 

Isaac immediately lunged toward him and pushed Stiles’ shoulder hard.

Scott could tell he had held back a little, given that Stiles only wobbled slightly, instead of landing on his ass.

“You know what, fuck you, Stiles!” Isaac said his teeth clenched so hard, Scott wasn’t sure how he was getting the words out.

Stiles held his ground and stood toe to toe with him. 

“I don’t care what you think of me. I care about Scott. And maybe you’d be able to see that if you didn’t have this weird obsession with keeping Scott all to yourself.”

Stiles didn’t bat an eye at Isaac’s accusation. “Accusing me of being jealous, that’s really original. I know that the idea of having a friend is a foreign concept to you Isaac, but friends look out for each other. I wouldn’t be a good friend if I didn’t say something when I see my best friend wasting his time with someone as beneath him as you are.”

Isaac’s nostrils flared and his eyes started to change color as he grabbed Stiles’ arm.

Scott quickly stepped in between them. “Enough!” This was getting them nowhere and he was tired of Stiles treating Isaac like dirt. He looked over his shoulder at Stiles. “That’s enough!”

Scott grabbed Isaac’s face and looked him in the eye. “It’s okay, Isaac. Calm down. It’s okay.”

Isaac was still looking at Stiles and growling.

“Isaac!” 

Scott watched as Isaac eyes changed back and he took a deep breath and blinked slowly. His gaze focused on Scott. He reached for Scott’s hands on his face.

After a few seconds, Scott whispered to Isaac, “Just give us a minute, please?”

When Scott looked over at Stiles, he was watching the two of them and seemed lost and confused. Stiles stumbled backward and picked up his bag. “No, I’m gonna go.”

Scott turned around, his hand still held in one of Isaac’s. “What?”

Stiles headed towards the door. He stopped with his hand on the doorknob. “You know, Scott, you’re my best friend and I can take a lot from you.” He twisted around and looked over at his best friend. “I was okay with you ignoring me when you were with Allison and having nothing but Allison on the brain. I was happy that you could talk to me about it. We’ve always been able to talk about anything because we trust each other.” He took a deep breath. “And now you’re lying to me. Because of him. You say that Isaac’s changed? Unfortunately, I don’t think he’s the only one.”

Stiles didn’t wait for a response before he opened the door and walked out.

Scott just stared at the door. This was his fault. He should have never let Stiles find out that way. 

There were so many different emotions swirling through the room that Scott was overwhelmed by the smell of it all. Anger, love, jealousy, pity, but the biggest one of all right now was regret.

He turned to Isaac, who looked as if he had no idea what to say, and wrapped him in his arms. Scott could only hope that with some time and distance Stiles could calm down and they could talk about this rationally.

~*~

The last time Isaac remembered feeling this petrified was right before Derek gave him the bite. He had been apprehensive about his decision, but he knew that he wanted it. He couldn’t go on living like he had been. But that didn’t stop the terror from overwhelming him before Derek sank his teeth in.

Derek had told him that it was possible that the bite might not take. There was so much uncertainty and there was nothing Isaac could do to affect the outcome. He was completely at the mercy of fate, or whatever controlled the sometimes fucked up outcomes of this life, and that thought paralyzed him with fear.

Even if the bite hadn’t worked out, and he had died, Isaac knew that he would be better off no matter what. Even death had to be better than living with his sadistic father.

Things were so different now. Being with Scott was better than he ever could have imagined. They had lived for months in their own little world of secret touches and secret glances and had their own secret language that was just theirs. And now that had all been ruined. Stiles had ruined it.

And now Isaac didn’t know what was going to happen and he felt paralyzed.

Scott cleared his throat. “I know that was bad, but it’s going to get better.”

Isaac barely moved as he turned his attention to Scott, who sat next to him on his bed. “How?”

“I’m going to give Stiles time to cool down and then I’m going to talk to him. I know that sometimes Stiles can be stubborn…”

Isaac raised an eyebrow. 

“A lot of the time.” Scott amended his previous statement.

Another look from Isaac.

“Alright, _most_ of the time he’s stubborn. But even though he’s mad at me right now, Stiles trusts me. I know I can convince him that I know what I’m doing.”

Isaac got up and trudged over to the window. “And if you can’t?”

Scott didn’t respond. He just bit his lip and looked down at his lap.

“Are we over?”

“No!” Scott said immediately. He got up immediately and walked over to Isaac. He took his hands in his own. “No. Stiles may be one of the most important people in my life, but I know he’s wrong about this. About you.” 

Isaac looked away, but Scott put a gentle finger under his chin and turned his face forward to look at him.

“I’m so sorry about the things he said to you. He shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.”

Isaac feigned indifference. “It’s fine. I’ve heard worse.”

“That doesn’t matter. You shouldn’t have had to take it then and you shouldn’t have to take it now,” Scott said, the steel in his voice leaving no room for argument.

It was moments like this that made Isaac remember that underneath the puppy dog exterior, Scott was a formidable opponent. He’d certainly had his ass handed to him enough times by Scott to know that.

As he touched Isaac’s cheek, Scott’s tone softened. “I care about you, Isaac, and I don’t care what Stiles or anyone else thinks about us. It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

Scott spoke with such heartfelt sincerity Isaac almost believed him. He desperately wanted to. But reality had not always been so kind to Isaac and he was incredibly skeptical about that changing now.

~*~

Stiles hesitated before he opened the door to the clinic. It had been one of the weirder and more awkward days of his life - and that was definitely saying something. He spent all day avoiding his best friend. He _never_ thought that would happen and given that they had practically every class together, it wasn’t easy.

He just avoided eye contact whenever they were near each other. Thankfully, he didn’t have to see Scott and Isaac together much. With any luck, with distance between them, Scott would re-think the idiotic idea of being a couple with the loser.

Stiles finally walked into the clinic, but his steps faltered when he saw that Scott had spotted him immediately. 

Scott met him in the middle of the room.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” Stiles crossed his arms in front of his chest. He slowly looked around the room. “Where’s your guard dog?”

Scott just sighed. “Isaac has the day off.”

Stiles just nodded slowly. 

Scott couldn’t seem to decide where he wanted to focus his attention and was fidgety. He twisted his hands together and finally focused his gaze on Stiles. “Look, you can ask me anything you want.”

There were a million questions that had gone through his mind - “where’s your brain?, “what are you thinking?”, “are you having a mental breakdown?” - but he decided to start with the simplest, and the one least likely to start a fight. “How did this ill-advised _thing_ with Isaac start?” Stiles asked, wrinkling his nose when he spoke Isaac’s name.

Scott got a crinkle in the middle of his forehead as he furrowed his brow. “I don’t really know. We were just spending time together and we were getting to know each other. Isaac’s really starting to figure out the kind of person he is, and that he wants to be, and I was helping him. He opened up to me and I realized I could talk to him about anything and suddenly I realized that my feelings for him had changed and he felt the same way.”

Stiles didn’t say anything. He walked over and hopped up on the examination table and leaned back a little. “Do you want to know what I think?”

“Even if I didn’t, I’m sure you’ll tell me,” Scott said. He sounded resigned to the inevitable.

“You were still reeling from losing Allison. You missed her and you missed that feeling of being in love. You and your big heart pitied Isaac and decided he was this person that you could change and make better. You got these feelings twisted up and transferred your feelings for Allison to Isaac. And even though Isaac knows that you’re clearly on the rebound, he took advantage of that confusion.” Stiles leaned forward. “That’s what I think.” He had prepared his speech all day in his head, had even written down some notes, and thought it made perfect sense.

“So I’m just some idiot who’s confused and doesn’t know his own heart?” Scott huffed.

“I’m not saying you’re an idiot, Scott.” Stiles tossed his head back and forth as he quickly thought it over. “Though honestly you sometimes can be, yes a little idiotic, especially when it comes to your love life, but you don’t have to be an idiot to be on the rebound.”

Scott shook his head hard over and over. 

Stiles slid off the table. “Scott, you have the biggest heart of anyone I know. It’s one of the things I love about you. I know that you don’t want to hurt Isaac. But you can tell me, okay. This isn’t a real relationship, is it?”

“Yes, it is.” He said each word clearly and carefully.

“Then why couldn’t you tell anyone? Why couldn’t you tell me?”

“I told you. I just wanted it be between Isaac and me. I didn’t want any complications.” Scott stepped toward Stiles as he spoke. “Or maybe I was afraid that you might start some crazy rumor about Isaac, like telling everyone he had lice for instance?”

Stiles’ eyes bulged and he sputtered. “W-what?”

“You really think I didn’t know about that, dude?” Scott blew out a breath. “Danny told me.”

Stiles blinked at Scott. “When?”

“You remember after I became captain, or co-captain with Jackson, Coach forced us to have this lame get together for the team.”

“Right. He was so cheap we actually had it in the locker room,” Stiles added with a dry chuckle.

Scott nodded. “Yeah. Well, Danny and I got to talking and he told me why he stopped hanging out with me.”

Stiles scratched his head. “When did that happen? We were glued to each other’s side the whole night.”

“Not the whole night. We were talking after Jackson dared you to take the shower with all your clothes on, and you were drying off.”

“Oh...right.”

A part of Stiles was relieved that Scott already knew, and given that he hadn’t said anything about it, didn’t seem to be upset about it. He hoped it meant Scott could see that he was just looking out for him, like he is now with this situation with Isaac.

“Stiles…” Scott said in a tone that pleaded with Stiles to really hear him. “I’m not mad, okay. I just need you to understand that I can be friends with you and still go out with Isaac. You don’t have to do anything to chase him off.”

Stiles couldn’t help the nasty thought that occurred to him and blurted it out. “Right, why would I do that when you can do it on your own?”

If Stiles didn’t know him as well as he did, he might not have noticed the brief flash of pain in Scott’s eyes, but he did, and felt horrible about what he said. “You think I’m going to mess things up?” Scott said with a tremor of fear in his voice.

“I’m just looking at your track record so far. You loved Allison. If you couldn’t make that work, I don’t see this thing with Isaac lasting,” Stiles explained.

“I really care about Isaac, Stiles.”

“But you don’t love him. You don’t picture a future with him.” Stiles chuckled briefly. “God, you used to go on endlessly about your white picket fence fantasy future with Allison. It was so nauseating sometimes.”

Scott got a faraway look in his eyes and a small smile lit up his face.

“But it’s different with Isaac,” Stiles said.

Scott turned around slowly.

“It’s different, right?” 

“I don’t think it is,” Scott whispered as he turned back to look Stiles in the eye.

He stared at Stiles, almost unblinking, with such clear-eyes and confidence. It felt like something had shifted and Stiles knew that things were far more serious than he had imagined. He was almost scared to voice what he knew Scott was thinking. “You think about a future with him?”

“Yes.”

“But that doesn’t mean anything, right? It doesn’t mean that you’re…”

“In love with Isaac?”

Stiles nodded.

“I am. I love him.” Scott sounded almost as surprised as Stiles felt.

Stiles whirled around and gripped the edges of the counter. “How could you be in love with him? You were just in love with Allison. Unless, you didn’t really love her…”

“Don’t!” Scott growled. He dropped his head forward and tugged at the back of his hair. He took a deep breath. “Don’t say that. I did love her. But she broke up with me.”

“And you said you would wait for her forever,” Stiles pointed out.

“I thought I would,” Scott said with genuine sadness. 

“But Isaac is just so darn special that he won you over? Is that it?” Stiles said. Acrid bitterness filled his mouth and dripped from every word.

Scott crossed his arms over his chest. “Something like that, yeah.”

“Why?” Stiles shook his head as he turned back around. He just wanted a simple answer from Scott because this truly baffled him.

Scott got a goofy, and somewhat sickening, smile on his face. "He's funny and he makes me laugh. He's smart. He listens to me and he doesn't judge me."

Stiles stroked his chin. "You know it kind of sounds like you're describing me."

Scott smirked. "Well, Isaac and I also have great sex."

Stiles whistled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Okay, we don't do that. Not that I haven't offered plenty of times."

Scott ignored his comment. "You don't know Isaac like I do."

Stiles shrugged. "Or maybe he's just showing you what you want to see."

"Ugh!" Scott groaned and put his head in his hands. "Why are you being so stubborn?"

“Am I supposed to just forget that he tried to kill me?” Stiles would certainly never forget it. He knew that Isaac and his pack were really after Lydia, not that it made it any better, but when Isaac broke into Scott’s house and lunged for him, Stiles thought he could handle it. He thought he could reason with Isaac. But the look in Isaac’s eyes that night chilled him to the bone. If Scott hadn’t come in when he did, Stiles wasn’t sure what would have happened. “Just because you got over what he did, doesn’t mean I have to. I have a right to be upset.”

Scott looked at Stiles with more patience and understanding. “I know that you do. What he did was horrible. I’m not saying you have to forgive him, but why can’t you accept that I have?”

“Because I care about you. Scott, you’re good and kind. And Isaac is the exact opposite. You are ten times better than he could be on his best day. You deserve someone so much better than him. And I'm sorry to say this Scott, but given how fast you got over Allison, who's mostly a good person, it should take you about a nanosecond to get over Isaac.”

“Stop it.”

Scott was so quiet, Stiles thought he’d misheard him. “What?”

“I said stop it!” Scott suddenly erupted.

Stiles braced for fangs or yellow eyes, but Scott’s own brown eyes just seethed with anger, which actually scared Stiles a lot more. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Scott seething with such obvious fury, pre or post wolf.

Scott hung his head. He didn’t say anything for a few seconds and the tension was getting unbearable for Stiles. He wanted to cut the tension with a sarcastic comment or something that would make Scott laugh, but they were well past that point now.

Scott finally looked up and not like he was two seconds away from exploding, but his usually warm and loving eyes were clouded over with hurt and disappointment. 

“I need you to stop talking about Isaac like that. I’m not saying you have to like him. You don’t have to be friends with him. All I’m asking is that you accept how I feel about him and don’t insult him to my face. I don’t think that’s asking too much.”

Stiles for once didn’t know what to say.

“I honestly think you and Isaac can get along someday.” Scott got a weird grin on his face. “The weirdest thing is you don’t realize just how much you and Isaac are alike, do you?”

Stiles blew out a breath derisively. “That’s...not true.”

Scott chuckled. “Really? Isaac is funny. He especially likes to use his humor to hide behind when things get uncomfortable. He’s smart, but has trouble concentrating in school. And he…” Scott bit his lip and, for some reason, looked behind him, even though it was just him and Stiles at the clinic.

“I shouldn’t even be telling you this, but his mother died when he was 7.” Scott briefly looked up at Stiles. “She was killed by a drunk driver. Isaac doesn’t talk about her much. He barely remembers her, but he misses her so much.” 

Scott sounded like he was close to tears. Stiles could feel a lump forming in his throat as he thought back to his own mother, and how much her absence still shaped every moment of his life. It had never even occurred to him that he and Isaac had that in common. 

Scott looked pointedly at Stiles. “Does that any of that sound even a little bit familiar? Probably not. Instead of trying to tell me how Isaac isn’t worthy to breathe the same air as the rest of us, you could take two seconds and stop being so judgmental and get to know him.”

Stiles would admit he’d never really given Isaac’s life pre-bite much thought. Other than what they all knew about Isaac's father, Stiles didn’t know much about Isaac's other family. He never knew that he and Isaac had anything in common.

He didn't instantly feel some kind of kinship with Isaac though, just because they both lost their mothers young, but he did feel like he understood him a little more.

Stiles could see, and practically feel, how much this meant to Scott. Normally, he would do anything for him, he just wasn't sure if he could do this. He couldn’t shake his distrust of Isaac.

"Of course I know how much it hurts to lose your mother. But the difference between me and Isaac is I don't use it as an excuse to hurt people."

Scott's eyes bulged and he looked at Stiles with a mixture of shock and annoyance. "That's not what I meant."

"I know, but it's always some excuse about Isaac. His mother died, his dad abused him..."

Scott stalked towards him. "Don't say that like it doesn't mean anything."

"That's not what I'm doing." Stiles said quickly. "I just mean that Isaac doesn't get a free pass because his childhood was screwed up." Stiles pinched the bridge of his nose. “Scott, I'm your best friend and I know it doesn't always seem like it, but I'm always trying to look out for you. That's all I'm trying to do here." 

"Stiles, I don't need you to look out for me right now. I just need you to be my friend." 

"Sometimes being a friend means saying things that you might not want to hear." 

Scott threw up his hands. Clearly they were at an impasse. "You're not even going to try, are you?" He said with profound sadness.

"I know you think I haven't been, but I have, Scott. I just don't see him the way you do and I’m pretty sure I never will. I don’t want to lie to you about that." 

Scott opened and closed his mouth a few times and shook his head before speaking. "I'm not going to break up with Isaac. And I can't, I can't..." He swallowed thickly and opened his eyes. "You can't come around if you're going to keep treating him the way you do."

Stiles took a step back and tried to work out in his head what was happening. Though, Stiles didn't know why he expected different. Scott wouldn't just dump Isaac because he wanted him to. He was too loyal for that.

"Are you-" Stiles' voice cracked and he cleared his throat. "You don't want me to come to your house anymore?"

Scott nodded stiffly.

"But we can still hang out at school and my house, right?"

Scott didn't say anything.

Stiles looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. He was absolutely not going to cry. He finally faced Scott again. "Are you saying if I can't accept you and Isaac, we won't be friends anymore?"

Scott closed his eyes and didn’t speak for a moment, when he opened his eyes he sighed. “I don’t know.”

Stiles was gutted, but that quickly transitioned to anger. He was pissed at Isaac, He was pissed at himself, but he was especially pissed at Scott.

He started to back out of the room, but stopped and stared daggers at Scott. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s not the first time you put your relationship over your best friend. You know this time maybe I won’t be so forgiving when you decide you want to be friends again.”

Scott looked guilty and opened his mouth to speak, but Stiles turned his back on him and strode out of the room.

He walked out overloaded with anger, but by the time he got to his car he just felt empty. Pathetically enough, Stiles kind of missed Scott already.

He might have been angry at Scott, but he still cared. He knew Scott would have to see reason soon. He wouldn't lose Scott to Isaac. He just couldn't. Stiles couldn't entertain any other possibility.

~*~

Scott walked up to his front door on autopilot. He'd been going through the motions ever since Stiles left the clinic.

Scott couldn't believe that it had really come to this. Stiles was stubborn and had every right to dislike Isaac, but he had been sure that if he could just tell Stiles what Isaac meant to him, it would change things and Stiles would at least make some effort to get along with Isaac, or pretend to. Clearly he underestimated Stiles' dislike of Isaac.

Scott shut the front door and, after briefly banging his head against it, he trudged up the stairs. 

He dropped his bag just inside the door to his bedroom. He saw a small patch of light coming from underneath Isaac's closed door. Scott could hear him shuffling around in there.

As he walked over, Isaac's shuffling footsteps stopped and Scott caught a strong whiff of fear, which had him immediately sprint faster to Isaac's room.

He threw the door open and he was stunned at what he saw.

Scott rubbed at his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

Isaac stood in front of his open duffel bag and paused his frantic packing as he looked up at Scott, but resumed quickly. 

"Isaac?" Scott said flatly, still too stunned, too tired, and too surprised to comprehend what was going on.

"You talk to Stiles?" Isaac asked conversationally, glossing over the enormity of what he was doing.

"Yeah," Scott spoke slowly as he tried to process Isaac’s actions. "He's still not happy about us being together." Scott added with sadness, “I think I hurt his feelings.”

Isaac just grunted. He went over to the closet and hastily ripped his shirts from the hangers. The clattering hangers resonated in Scott's ears.

"That's too bad," he said as he dumped the shirts in the already near capacity bag. Scott briefly thought back to when Isaac first moved in with them. He hadn’t had much more than the clothes on his back. Scott was amazed that Isaac had accumulated so much in the short time he'd been living with them.

Isaac cleared his throat. "It's okay, though. He'll be happy when he finds out I don't live here anymore."

Scott almost doubled over at his words. "What? Isaac, what is happening?"

Isaac sniffed and looked down at the floor. "I've decided that I'm tired of being your secret, Scott."

This was such a 180, Scott felt dizzy. They'd talked about this. "But it doesn't have to be a secret anymore."

"Because your Wonder Twin Stiles knows now." Isaac said in a harsh tone, that Scott hadn't heard coming from him in a long time. "I didn't sign up for a threesome, Scott. What happens between us should have nothing to do with him. I'm tired of dealing with him."

Scott rushed toward him. "It's going to be okay. Stiles will come around."

Isaac looked at him in disbelief. "Did you not hear what I said? I don't care about how Stiles feels about this. I don't care if he comes around. Stop saying things are going to be okay." He blew out a long breath. "I'm just done."

Scott was breathing heavily. As Isaac tried to walk past him, he grabbed his wrist. He knew he was holding on too tightly, and he shouldn't have been, but he couldn't let go. He might have lost his best friend that night and he was not about to lose Isaac on top of it. "Please, just stop. You have to explain this because this morning you were fine. We were fine."

Isaac turned around slowly. He didn't make an attempt to get away from Scott. "That's because you weren't paying attention. You were too worried about how to mend things with your precious, Stiles. I may have said things were fine, but I'm not."

He looked down at his wrist and tugged gently. Scott got the hint and let go.

Everything Isaac was saying tore at Scott's heart. The things he was saying made sense, but there was still something that felt off. Isaac was saying the right words and he even sounded right at times - angry and tired. But it didn't ring true.

Scott stared at Isaac and crouched down a little to get Isaac to look him in the eye. 

Isaac just hung his head lower and rubbed the back of his neck. "It just doesn't feel like it used to anymore. And maybe I'm just not cut out for relationships."

Scott didn't say anything and finally Isaac looked up briefly. As soon as he looked at him, he knew. "You're lying."

Isaac recoiled and kept a wide birch as he walked past Scott and back towards the bed and his bag. "What are you talking about?"

Scott slowly stepped towards Isaac. "I know you, Isaac. I know how you think and you're trying to push me away."

Isaac scoffed at that. "I didn't realize you had such an ego, Scott. The only reason I could want to break up with you is because I'm lying?"

Scott stepped right up to Isaac. He was close enough to see Isaac's long eyelashes fluttering against his perfect skin. "Why can't you look at me?"

"I can look at you." Isaac said. He glanced up, but stared at a spot behind Scott's head.

Scott put two fingers under Isaac's chin and finally Isaac's blue eyes focused on him. "Don't lie to me, please."

Isaac panted for a second and stared into Scott's eyes. Finally his shoulders sagged. "Fine. I'm trying to do the right thing, for once."

"The right thing?"

Isaac tore his eyes away from Scott and looked up at the ceiling. "I may not like Stiles, but you need him. I don't want you to lose that because of me."

Scott put his hands gently on Isaac's face. "I won't."

"You don't know that."

Scott shook his head. "I do. Because I love Stiles and he loves me. We're going to work this out. I have to have faith in that."

"But it would be easier if you just let me go," Isaac pleaded.

Scott felt so much love for him in that moment. This was the Isaac that Stiles refused to see. He was willing to give up his happiness just so Scott could be happy. "It wouldn't be easier."

"How come?"

"Because I'm in love with you."

Isaac sucked in a breath and stared open-mouth at Scott. "You just said..."

"I'm in love with you," Scott repeated.

Isaac's lips twitched up briefly, before his lips pressed firmly together. He wasn't frowning, but he did look confused. "Why?"

Scott hated that Isaac's father had beaten him down so much, not just physically but emotionally as well, that Isaac had trouble seeing his own worth or why someone could love him.

Scott ran his hand through Isaac's curly hair. "Because when you smile it makes me happy. Because you take care of my mom even when I don't ask you to. Because you made mistakes and you're trying to learn from them. Because you don't ever tell me I'm dumb, even when I know I say something stupid. Because you let me hold me when you can't sleep at night and you do the same for me. And because when I wake up, you're the first person that I want to see."

"Wow." Isaac breathed out.

"How's that for an answer?" Scott grinned.

"That's pretty fucking awesome!" Isaac declared. And then he smiled that smile - that face splitting smile that had to be the personification of the word joy- that Scott would swear was more powerful, more addictive, and more intense than any drug could ever be.

Scott pulled Isaac into a tight embrace. He knew he was probably holding on too tight, but he couldn't help it. He pulled back and searched Isaac's face. "So you'll stay?"

Isaac kissed his lips softly. "I love you, Scott. I'm not going anywhere."

Scott heaved a huge sigh of relief and pulled Isaac into his arms again. 

This had been such an emotional roller coaster of a day and Scott wasn't sure how he was still standing. But the fact that a day that had started out so shitty had ended on such a high, filled him with hope. Things could get better and he was going to do everything to make sure that it did.

~*~

It had been two days since Scott's love confession and Isaac was still hardly able to believe it really happened. But it did, and now he and Scott were turning into one of those nauseating couples who were so over the top in love Isaac just wanted to punch them. Scott would tell Isaac he loved him at night, he would kiss Isaac awake with “I love you,” and randomly text him ILY. Very sickening. But Isaac really didn’t care though.

He'd spent so many years feeling alone and unloved that he was going to bask in this feeling as much as possible.

Only two things kept him from truly being able to enjoy this high. One of them, of course, was Stiles. Scott and Stiles were still not speaking and Isaac felt like it was his fault. He wanted to fix things, but didn't know how.

The other problem actually filled Isaac with much more anxiety. Scott meant it when he said he was ready to start telling people about them. When they got to school, Scott told him that he was going to attempt to tell Allison about them. Scott being the great guy that he was wanted to make sure Allison heard it from him first. 

The last time he saw Scott they hadn’t had “the most awkward talk in the history of the universe” as Scott put it. Isaac was pretty sure Scott was wrong. The most awkward talk in the history of the universe would be when Scott told his mother about them, which he was planning on doing that night.

Even though Scott told him he had no reason to be, Isaac was really nervous about how Melissa would react. He had started to wonder if unpacking his bag had been a good idea. He knew that Melissa really cared about him, but it was one thing to allow your son’s friend to move in, and another to let his boyfriend have free reign for booty calls every night under your roof.

Scott went to work after school and Isaac decided to butter Melissa up by making her favorite dinner that night. It was annoying having to take the bus, but he got everything together and was about to start cooking.

He started to unpack everything from the bags. When he looked down at everything, he did a double take, and checked the clearly empty bags again. “Stupid, motherfucking asshole!”

He had been too busy frantically searching the bags again to hear Scott come in through the front door. He only noticed Scott’s presence when Scott shook his shoulder. 

“Isaac, what is it?” He asked sounding really fearful.

Isaac looked devastated. “I don’t have the meatballs.”

Scott almost laughed, but the pitiful look on Isaac’s face stopped him. “And?”

“And?” Isaac looked at Scott as if he’d grown another head. “I can’t make spaghetti and meatballs without meatballs.”

“So, just make spaghetti without meatballs.”

“Do you even know your own mother, Scott?” Isaac grumbled. “Meatballs are her favorite part.” He sat down heavily at the kitchen table.

Scott chuckled softly and sat down next time. He took Isaac’s hands in his own. “Isaac, you don’t need to bribe my mother with meatballs for her to accept us being together. She’s going to be fine. She’ll be surprised but she can deal. If she can deal with me being a werewolf, she can deal with me dating you.”

Isaac nodded once, but he still looked skeptical. “How did it go with, Allison?”

Scott pursed his lips together. “It wasn’t what I expected.”

“It wasn’t awkward?”

“Oh, no. It was definitely awkward.” 

Isaac was curious, but wasn’t worried, since Scott didn’t look upset in anyway. In fact, he actually smiled. “When I finally told her, she laughed.”

“She laughed?” Isaac probably shouldn’t have been, but he was annoyed at that reaction. “Should I be insulted by that?”

Scott shook his head. “It wasn’t really anything bad. She just said she was surprised. She actually said she was surprised, and not surprised by it.”

Isaac sat back in his chair. “What did she mean by that?

“She had never expected me to date a guy next, but she’s seen us together and kind of wondered sometimes what was really going on. She was happy that her instincts were right.”

“She wasn’t upset?” Isaac didn’t really care about Allison’s feelings too much. He was still a little pissed at her for attacking him, but he didn’t want to be like Stiles and hold an epic grudge. Allison had meant a lot to Scott and he cared about her and it would kill him to cause her pain.

“She’s okay. She never expected me to wait forever. She said that she’s glad I’m happy.” Scott squeezed Isaac’s hand.

Isaac didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but he was skeptical that was all there was. “That was it? Either she’s either the most emotionally stable girl in the world, and the previous knife wounds to my back make that unlikely, or there’s more to this.”

Scott looked down and picked at the tablecloth. “She said that it was a little weird for her and she had some of the same concerns as Stiles. She’s not sure if you’re that different from how you were before.”

Isaac threw up his hands. Yes, what he did was horrible, but how could he put it behind him if everyone wouldn’t let it go. “God, I never killed anyone! Is anyone going to give me a chance to make it right?” 

Scott tugged one of his hands down. “You didn’t let me finish. She’s worried about me, but she trusts me and isn’t going to give me a hard time about it.”

Isaac relaxed a little. “Okay. I guess that’s good. I wish Stiles could follow her lead.”

Scott nodded slowly and looked pensive as he bit his lip. “Yeah. At least you don’t have to worry about Allison and you won’t have to worry about my mom, either.”

Isaac hoped Scott was right.

After talking it over with Scott, Isaac decided to regain some of his sanity and stop freaking out about meatballs. He improvised and made shrimp marinara instead. Scott set the table as Isaac got ready. Scott talked him out of wearing a suit, which was a good idea because Isaac didn’t have any suits of his own and he could just imagine how ridiculous he’d look in one of Scott’s.

Melissa was so tired when she got home that she just immediately sat down to eat and didn’t bother to get out of her scrubs. It was only after she had finished off half of her plate, that she was able to make any conversation.

Her silence had made Isaac even more anxious, but now that she was talking and asking Scott and Isaac questions, his anxiety didn’t lessen. Normally, he and Melissa talked a lot over dinner, but right now Isaac’s mind was blank. Well, that wasn’t entirely accurate. The one thing that ran through his mind was “I’m fucking your son.” Thankfully, he managed to keep himself from blurting that out.

Melissa’s plate was empty, except a piece of garlic bread that she was now dragging through the marinara sauce. “I think this is your best meal yet, Isaac. I swear I don’t know what we did for meals before you got here.”

“A lot of ramen noodles and hot dogs,” Scott supplied.

“No wonder I’ve blocked it from my memory,” Melissa joked.

Suddenly, Isaac laughed really loudly. He covered his mouth quickly as both Melissa and Scott stared at him. “Sorry, that was really funny. You’re really funny.”

“Yeah.” She gave him a funny look.

The conversation, the little there was, stalled and Isaac wasn’t sure what to do. “Do you want more to drink?” He asked Melissa. He didn’t wait for her answer and stood up and knocked over his glass. “Shit.” He grabbed some napkins and dabbed at the mess.

Melissa cocked her head to the side and looked him up and down. “Are you alright, Isaac?”

Isaac looked up and awkwardly clung to the dripping napkins in his hands. “No. I mean y-yes. Fine. I’m good.”

Melissa narrowed her eyes and looked over at Scott. “You boys haven’t been...experimenting have you?”

Isaac laughed again. He turned his gaze to Scott. “You want to answer that one, Scott?”

Scott ran his hand through his hair. “Uh...mom. I just wanted to tell you that I’m dating someone new.”

Melissa sat forward and smiled. “Oh, that’s it? Because that’s great.”

“It is great,” Scott nodded. “And I think you’ll really like who it is since you already like that person.”

“I already like that person? You said you’re dating someone new, so it’s not Allison. Is it that girl Lydia?”

“No,” Scott cleared his throat. “It’s actually not...a girl.”

Melissa blinked rapidly. “It’s a guy. You’re dating a guy?” She put her hand over her mouth. “Are you dating Stiles?”

“What?” Scott yelled. “No. Why would I date Stiles?”

“I don’t know. You two are so close. I mean, who else could it be?”

Scott stared at Isaac.

Melissa followed his gaze.

Isaac gave her a small smile.

“Oh. You’re dating Isaac?” Melissa said. She didn’t sound angry, but she didn’t sound happy either.

“Yes. He’s my boyfriend and I love him.” Scott smiled proudly at Isaac.

Melissa’s expression softened and she looked back at Scott. “You’re in love? How long has this been going on?”

“Since the beginning of summer,” Scott had the grace to look guilty.

“You’ve been dating for four months and I’m just finding out about it?” Melissa shouted. “Why wouldn’t you tell me? You know I care about Isaac. What did you think I would say?”

Isaac was happy to hear Melissa say she cared about him. But when he looked over at Scott, the smile dropped from his face. Scott was frowning and looked like a kicked puppy.

Scott shrugged. “I don’t know. First I’m a wolf, now I’m dating a guy, and not just any guy, but someone we live with. It’s a lot to take in. I wanted to be a better son and not cause you so much stress.”

“Scott, look at me!” Melissa reached over and gripped Scott’s chin. “I know things haven’t been easy this year, and we’ve both made mistakes, but I could not ask for a better son. You being in love and happy is not going to cause me stress. You could be dating a monkey and I wouldn’t care.” She paused. “Wait, no that would still be weird. But Isaac’s no monkey.”

“Thanks.” Isaac replied with no bitterness and a little bit of humor. He was too happy that Melissa was taking this better than he expected that he didn’t really care what she compared him to.

“You’re really okay with this?” He’d tried to make Isaac feel like everything was going to be okay, but Isaac could always tell that Scott was just as nervous as he was. After how Stiles reacted, if Melissa had taken things badly, Isaac doesn’t know how Scott would have rebounded.

Melissa smiled. “I’m really okay with this. I’m probably going to want doors open at all times, but I’m okay.”

Scott smiled back at her, and then looked up at Isaac. He looked so happy that all Isaac wanted to do was kiss him senseless, but he would hold off on the PDA in front of Melissa for now.

Dinner was over pretty quickly after that. Scott helped him clear the table, and then Isaac washed the dishes. When he heard someone come in behind him, at first he assumed it was Scott, but the smell - a mixture of sweat, antiseptic, and strawberry-scented shampoo - let him know that it was Melissa.

As happy as Isaac was that Melissa wasn’t upset, it was still a little odd to be around her now. Things were different between him and Scott, and he assumed it would have to be the same with Melissa and him.

Melissa started drying the plates and Isaac kept his eyes on the sink in front of him. He snuck a look over at her a couple of times, and when she finally caught him looking, he shook his head and grinned. “I guess you never saw this coming when I first moved in.”

“Not exactly,” Melissa said openly, not hiding her initial surprise. “But, Scott could definitely do worse.”

Isaac should have just been able to take the compliment, but unfortunately he wasn’t wired that way. “Really? Worse than the sociopath in training that turned your son gay?”

Melissa almost dropped her dish on the floor, she whipped around so fast. “First of all, Isaac, you don’t “turn” someone gay. You know better than that. And you are not a sociopath. You think I’d let you live here if I thought you were deranged in any way?”

Isaac shut off the faucet and shook the water from his hands. “You don’t know some of the things I’ve done in the past.”

“I don’t care,” Melissa said with an ease that shocked Isaac. 

Isaac finally looked at her fully. “You really don’t care?”

“No,” Melissa sighed. “Isaac, you’re 16 years old. No matter what you think, or what you’ve seen in the movies, your whole life does not have to be defined by your actions when you’re a teenager. I don’t know what you did before Isaac, but I see how you are now, especially with me, and with Scott. You’re family Isaac and, quite frankly I think my son is lucky to have you.”

Isaac felt a huge swell of relief. He was starting to get choked up, so he decided to make a joke. “I’m still family even if I cheat on Scott or something.” He immediately regretted the comment as soon as it came out of his mouth,

Melissa’s eyes narrowed to slits.

Isaac immediately backtracked. “I would never, _ever_ , cheat on Scott.”

“Good, because if you ever did. I would destroy you.” 

Isaac gulped. 

And like a switch had been flipped, Melissa smiled and turned around. “But, yeah, you’d still be family.” 

~*~

Isaac was beat. But he had insisted on cleaning the kitchen after he was done so Scott could get started on his homework and Melissa could take a shower.

After he was done, he slowly climbed the stairs. He could hear Scott and his mother talking. He was just going to head to his room but when he heard his name, he couldn’t help inching closer to the room.

“Just remember to be careful,” Melissa said.

Scott groaned. “Mom, you know I was careful with Allison, why wouldn’t I be careful with Isaac?”

Melissa laughed. “While I’m glad to know that you’re using protection with Isaac, that’s not what I meant. I need you to be careful with Isaac’s feelings and not hurt him.”

“Mom, I would never hurt him.” Scott stressed and Isaac had no doubt he meant it.

“I know that. I know you’d never intentionally hurt him, but you know everything Isaac has been through. If he loses you, I think it could really crush him.”

“He’s not going to lose me.” Scott answered without hesitation. “I love him.”

“I know you do, honey. But what about Stiles? I can’t imagine you cutting him out of your life completely.”

“It’s not going to come to that. Stiles will come around.”

“Be honest with me Scott, what happens if he doesn’t?” Melissa asked.

Scott sighed, loud and long.

Scott’s silence worried Isaac. Normally, he would just insist that everything would work out. But it seemed it was time to face the facts now.

“I-” Scott’s voice cracked. “I don’t know. Everything I’m doing, I’m either hurting Stiles or I’m hurting Isaac. I don’t want to do that. But what am I supposed to do? I can’t make Stiles forgive Isaac. I know Isaac has changed, but Stiles has a right to hate him. But I can’t stop loving Isaac. I won’t. So what am I supposed to do?”

Scott’s voice sounded utterly wrecked and Isaac quietly left and went to his room. Isaac made up his mind. Scott might not like it, but Isaac finally knew what he had to do.

~*~

Stiles rounded the corner at school and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Scott and Isaac over by Scott’s locker. Their heads were so close together that Stiles thought they might kiss. He started to back away.

He absolutely hated this and couldn’t believe it had gone on for this long. But this is where they were now, thanks to Isaac. Of course, Stiles could just apologize and this separation would be over. He really thought about it. But then when he would see Scott and Isaac together, he just couldn’t bring himself to.

Stiles continued to back away and suddenly bumped into someone. “Ah!” he yelled and whirled around.

He’d bumped into Danny as he was opening up his locker. Danny didn’t say anything, just quirked an eyebrow at Stiles with an expectant look on his face.

“Sorry,” Stiles spit out. He quickly looked behind him and, even though Scott and Isaac hadn’t looked up, he quickly darted behind Danny’s open locker door.

Danny looked over at what Stiles was staring at. “They’re such a cute couple.”

Stiles stuck his head out from behind the small door and gave Danny a nasty look. “They are not cute.”

“They’re very cute. I’m glad they’re finally out with it. It was like the worst kept secret in Beacon Hills.” Danny said as took books out of his locker and started to close it.

Stiles gripped the door and kept him from closing it. “Wait, I need this. And how long have you known about them?”

Danny shrugged. “A couple of months. I’ve seen the way Scott looks at Isaac.”

Stiles banged his head against the hard locker. “Oh, my God I swear if you say you could see the love pouring from his eyes, or some other cliched garbage, I might strangle you.”

“Dude, chill out,” Danny said. “I meant that I saw the way Scott was constantly eyeing Isaac’s ass like a starving man eyes a juicy steak.”

Stiles closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. “That’s a worse explanation.”

“There was also the time I walked in on them after lacrosse practice and they were making out in the shower.”

“Stop talking.” Stiles closed the locker door himself - loudly. He didn’t care if Scott or Isaac saw him. Luckily, it seemed they had already walked away.

Danny leaned against his locker with an annoying smirk on his face. “That’s right, I forgot about your weird jealousy thing.”

“I’m not jealous,” Stiles protested.

“Jealousy, possessiveness, stalker behavior...whatever you want to call it."

Stiles refused to rise to Danny’s bait. “It’s called being a protective best friend.”

Danny put his books into his bag. “What are you protecting him from exactly? Did Isaac murder someone?” 

“No,” Stiles said and then muttered under his breath, “not for lack of trying.” He continued at a normal volume. “Let’s just say a while ago he did some awful things that he can’t take back.”

“Why can’t you forgive him? Why can’t Scott just be happy with him?”

“Because I don’t think he could be happy with Isaac.” Stiles huffed. He didn’t see what business this was of Danny’s.

“And that’s your decision to make? I guess some things have never change.” Danny shook his head.

“Is this about what happened in middle school?” Stiles asked.

“I’m just a little curious. You don’t want Scott to be with Isaac because he’s a “bad” person?” He crooked his eyebrow up giving Stiles an expectant look. 

“Yeah.”

“So why wasn’t I good enough to be his friend?”

“W…” Stiles started and then faltered. 

“Uh huh?” Danny said in a smug tone.

Stiles shifted from foot to foot then finally sighed in exasperation. “I just didn’t like your face.”

Danny just chuckled and hoisted his bag onto his shoulder.

“I can’t believe you’re still upset about that. That was in middle school. Get over it.” Stiles whined.

“Sucks when someone can’t let go of a grudge, huh?”

Stiles’ mouth fell open slightly and he thought over what Danny said. He nodded and smiled grimly. “Okay, turn it around on me. You’re very clever, Danny.”

Danny nodded. “Look, what you do with Scott is your business. But it seems kind of stupid to me to lose your friendship just because you can’t get over a stupid grudge.”

Danny walked away.

Stiles kicked the wall. He hated that guy and his stupid logic.

 

~*~

Isaac rocked on his heels and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He wasn’t going to ring the doorbell again. He already thought this was a bad idea and had been prepared to bolt at least twice. If no one answered he decided it was fate’s way of confirming this was a bad idea.

He decided that Scott had done all he could. It was time for him to try and reason with Stiles. He knew Stiles hated him, and wasn’t more likely to listen to him than his best friend, but he had to do something. He just hoped his presence didn’t agitate Stiles more.

After another five seconds, he started to turn but he suddenly heard someone coming quickly to the door. It was Stiles. He could smell the sweet smell of his excitement...and then the sour disappointment when he opened the door to see Isaac standing there.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Isaac closed his eyes briefly, determined to not let anything Stiles said get the best of him. “I took the bus to get here.”

Stiles opened the door a little further and stepped closer. “I didn’t ask you how you got here, but why?”

Isaac stared at his feet. “I wanted to make this right. Scott really misses you.”

“What do you care?” Stiles spit out. “I thought you would do the dance of joy to have Scott all to yourself.”

“Scott’s in pain. Maybe that doesn’t bother you, but it bothers me.” Goddamit. Well, the plan to not antagonize Stiles lasted for about 30 seconds. He looked as if he wanted to punch Isaac. It was a look that Isaac was all too familiar with. If Isaac didn’t have about ten feet on him and wasn’t a super strength having supernatural creature, he’s sure Stiles would be kneeing him in the groin right about now. Even with the disadvantages, he looked like he was seriously considering it.

“Where the hell do you get off acting like you care about Scott more than I do?” Stiles chuckled, but there was clearly no joy behind it. “You’ve been with him about five seconds. I’ve known him almost his entire life. I’m sorry that my way of showing how much I care doesn’t include beating the shit out of him and trying to kill him multiple times.”

Isaac grabbed tufts of his hair and just pulled. He couldn’t take it anymore. “Would you give it a rest, already? Can we just move past it?"

Stiles stepped out into the light with Isaac. "I've been through a lot of weird and terrible shit this year. There are a lot of things that I can forget, some things I desperately want to forget, and some I just can't." He took a deep breath. "Isaac, I remember the look in your eye when you talked about killing Lydia. There was joy there. And then you and your pack cornered us in Scott's house, waiting for the perfect moment to strike because you thought we were defenseless. You came into the house and you grabbed me by the neck, and I swear, I really thought I might be a goner, until the future love of your life, saved me."

Isaac flinched and wanted to look away, but he thought he owed it to Stiles to look him in the eye. It wasn't pretty to have to relive what a douche he'd been then, but it was worse for Stiles.

Stiles made such a good show of being fearless sometimes, that Isaac had no idea what happened that night affected him so much.

Stiles sighed. “Anyway, I can’t even start to think about forgiveness for someone who hasn't showed me they're sorry for what they did. You never even apologized."

Isaac rubbed his forehead. “Yes, I did.”

Stiles crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Nope."

Isaac shook his head. "Yes, I did."

"Look, if you did it wasn't to me," Stiles explained.

Isaac was about to protest again. He was sure he had apologized to Stiles. He was almost positive...Or was he?

Isaac thought it over carefully and he realized Stiles was right. He had apologized to Scott, of course, and Allison and Lydia, but he hadn’t apologized to Stiles. 

He almost slapped himself on the forehead. Instead he just looked up at Stiles. "You're right and I’m sorry. I should have said it sooner. I didn't realize how much I hurt you. But even if I hadn't, I hurt your friends and should have apologized to you, too. Because you’re the kind of person that when your friends hurt, you hurt too."

Stiles' eyes widened at that comment.

"For what it's worth I never would have killed you that night. I was just trying to scare you."

"Mission accomplished." Stiles huffed.

Isaac didn't know what to say and just nodded. "I'm really sorry for that. Can you forgive me?" Isaac thought about offering his hand for him to shake, but thought against it. 

Stiles' features had softened and he looked less angry, but he still eyed Isaac warily. 

Isaac had a feeling there was more to this than Stiles was letting on. "Stiles, I could apologize over and over again. I could even record it for you, so you could always have it, but that's not going to solve anything if there's more to this."

Stiles looked away .

The idea of figuratively opening a vein and being vulnerable in front of Stiles really didn't appeal to him, but now was the time for absolute honesty. It might be the only thing to appeal to Stiles. He knew that approach would work best with him.

"I came here not just because I wanted to help Scott." Isaac gulped. "I'm looking out for myself, too. I was an absolute douche for a while. And even though I might not have deserved it, Scott decided to give me another chance. I've been doing everything I can to earn that forgiveness. Not just because I care about Scott but because I don't want to be that person I was."

Isaac stuck his hands deeper into his pockets. "I've never really believed that I would ever find love or that I deserved it. But Scott's changed that. He told me he loves me and I believe him. I love him, too. He told me he wouldn't leave me. He really believes that. But I know how much you mean to him. I think you and I both know that if you force Scott to make a choice, you're not going to be the one who loses."

Stiles didn't admit anything, but he didn't refute Isaac's claim.

Isaac but his lip hard and forced himself to look Stiles in the eye. "So I am begging you not to force him to make a choice."

Isaac found that he was holding his breath as he looked back at Stiles, who looked dumbfounded.

Isaac opened his mouth to add something, but realized there was really nothing left to say, so he slowly closed his mouth and walked away. Whatever happened now was up to Stiles.

~*~

Stiles practically growled at the stubborn stain on the floor that just wouldn't go away. He was on his hands and knees cleaning his kitchen floor. 

He hadn't planned on spending his Saturday morning cleaning, but he'd woken up at the crack of dawn. It didn't really matter since he couldn't sleep most of the night.

He'd been thinking of Isaac's speech all night. It almost pained him to admit it, but it took real guts for Isaac to pour his heart out like that. For the first time he could really see the change Scott was talking about.

And yet Stiles still felt this knot in his stomach when he thought about trusting Isaac with Scott. It was stupid; it wasn’t as if it was his job to give Scott his blessing. But given that Scott’s dad was a loser he did feel that it was his responsibility. 

“Stiles, what the hell did you do with my cheeseburger?” John Stilinski shouted as he stormed into the kitchen.

Stiles only vaguely heard him in the background.

The sheriff opened the refrigerator. “How did you even find this? I hid this in my safe. How am I supposed to find a better hiding spot than that?” He walked over to Stiles. “I’m telling you, kid, you’re too smart for your own good.”

“Uh huh.” Stiles said absent-mindedly. 

“Stiles?”

Stiles continued to rub furiously at a spot on the linoleum.

John backed away. “So, I’m just going to put this burger in my pocket and be on my way.”

“Great. Have a great day.” Stiles mumbled.

John slammed the front door so hard, Stiles’ head instantly popped up. He whirled around and looked at his dad over by the back door. 

“What was that for?” Stiles asked as he stood up.

“You haven’t heard a word I’ve said.” John accused him as he walked back into the room.

Stiles shrugged. “Yes, I did. You found a burger and you’re taking it to have a good time at lunch.”

John waited.

Stiles replayed those words over again. He groaned and put his head in his hands.

John puts his hand on Stiles’ shoulder. “What’s going on with you, son?”

Stiles backed away and shook his head as he looked down at the spotless floor. “Nothing.”

“Bull.” John crossed his arms over his chest. “You’ve been cleaning the same spot on the floor for twenty minutes. Unless you’re trying to create a portal to China you should probably stop.” 

Stiles rolled his eyes.

“You’ve been cleaning non-stop for the last few days. Are you trying to give me a clue about your future career path?” John teased.

Stiles laughed briefly and crouched down to pick up his sponge.

John rocked back on his heels and looked deep in thought. “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Scott around here in ages? What’s going on with you two?”

Stiles gave a bone weary sigh and sat down at the kitchen table. He decided if anyone could make sense of the mess that was his mind, it would be his dad. “I think I might have overreacted to something?”

“You?” His dad said in mock surprise. 

Stiles just glared at him.

John gave him a warm smile, so Stiles continued.

“You know what, I didn’t actually overreact. Scott’s boyfriend is a sociopath and-”

“Wait, back up,” John interrupted. “Scott has a _boyfriend_?”

“Yeah.” Stiles said as if it should be old news to his dad. “When I found out he was seeing said sociopath I couldn’t accept it and Scott said I can’t come around his house if I can’t.” He sighed. “I suppose I should say _former_ sociopath. I think he’s actually changing. I mean, what he did to me still sucks, but he actually apologized.” 

Stiles wasn’t going to tell his dad what Isaac had done. His dad still wasn’t in the know about all the crazy things going on in Beacon Hills, and Stiles was fairly sure if he told his dad that Isaac had tried to kill him, a jail cell would be the least of Isaac’s worries. 

John looked slightly confused, but nodded. “If he apologized, what’s the problem?”

Stiles leaned forward on the table and threw his hands up. “I don’t really know. I keep saying I want to protect Scott. But am I just being possessive? Am I trying to keep him all to myself?”

For some reason John grinned and leaned back in his chair. “Do you remember Scott’s friend in the fifth grade, Kyle Fisher?”

“Yeah,” Stiles said slowly, he wasn’t quite sure why his dad remembered him or brought him up.

“Scott brought him over all the time and tried to make the two of you friends, but no matter what, you wouldn’t give that kid an inch.” John leaned forward. “I’ll never forget this as long as I live. My ten year old son walks up to me and asks me if there was any way I could have Kyle arrested.”

Stiles closed his eyes and winced. He’d forgotten about that.

“I asked what for and you said that I should just make something up.”

Stiles dropped his head on the table. “So what you’re saying is I’ve been obsessively possessive for a really long time?”

“No.” John shook his head and laughed a bit. “It’s funny now, though of course back then I didn’t find it so amusing. I really don’t think it says anything bad about you.” John’s smile faltered and his voice became softer. “You know that wasn’t more than a year after your mother died.”

Stiles hadn’t put that together before.

“You only had two people in the world that you could really count on, and that was me and Scott. You were only ten years old. I think you were worried that you were going to lose Scott to this other kid and you didn’t know how else to handle it.”

“But I’m not ten years old anymore.”

“It doesn’t matter.” John put his hand on Stiles’ arm. “I think your urge to protect the people you love and keep them close has only gotten stronger. With me sometimes I feel like you’re the parent and I’m the kid. You worry about me and try to take care of me, by withholding delicious food, but that’s a topic for another time.”

Stiles genuinely smiled at that.

John squeezed Stiles’ forearm. “I love you, son and I’m not going anywhere. You’ve got to know that Scott feels the same way. You can let go, just a little bit, and you won’t lose him. I promise.”

Stiles knew that his dad was right. He should have sought out his dad a lot sooner. He hugged him. “Thank you, dad.”

John returned the hug, almost crushing Stiles to him. He pulled back slowly and held onto Stiles’ shoulders. They grinned at each other and John patted Stiles’ shoulders before he moved away. He was almost out the door when Stiles remembered something.

“Uh, dad?”

John looked over his shoulder. “Yeah?”

“Gonna need that burger in your pocket.”

John looked up at the sky and sighed in irritation. He walked over to Stiles. “What did we just talk about?”

Stiles put his hand out. “How I can sometimes be overprotective. But unless you know something about your cholesterol levels that I don’t, this is not me being overprotective.”

The sheriff took out the cheeseburger and grumbled as he handed it over. He started to walk out the door.

“Love you, dad.”

“Love you too, son.”

~*~

Scott stared at the video game in his hand and thought about all the hours they’d spent playing things like World of Warcraft and got depressed again.

Isaac walked in and Scott tried to smile up at him, but he was sure it looked as grim as he felt.

Isaac got up on the bed and put his arms around Scott. “I know I suck at it, but do you want to play a game with me?”

Scott chuckled. “Thanks for the offer, but no thanks.”

Isaac kissed his neck. “How about sex to take your mind off Stiles...at least I hope it takes your mind off him. I would hope you wouldn’t be thinking about him during.”

Scott twisted around and genuinely smiled. He appreciated how much Isaac was trying to take care of him. Scott was about to kiss him when there was a knock at the door.

They both got up and headed downstairs.

Scott barely contained the whoop of joy when he sees Stiles at the door. “Hi.” He said with hesitation.

“Hey.” Stiles said as he looked between Scott and Isaac. “Can I talk to you...alone?”

Isaac and Scott shared a brief look, but neither protested. 

Scott and Stiles moved into the living room.

Scott had barely sat down when Stiles started. “I don’t like Isaac.”

Scott suppressed a groan.

“I may never like him. And I don’t know if he won’t ultimately hurt you. But, I don’t think he’s the monster I’ve made him out to be.” He sat down next to Scott.

“Okay.” Scott still wasn’t sure where Stiles was going with this. He was hopeful, but wasn’t going to jump to conclusions.

“Isaac tried to kill me. That is a legitimate reason to hate him.” Stiles took a deep breath. “But that’s not the only reason I don’t like him.”

“What’s the other reason?”

“Scott, for the longest time it’s just been you and me against the world. We do everything together and I can’t remember a time when you weren’t in my life. But sometimes I get worried that I’m going to lose you.” Scott started to speak, but Stiles held up his hand. “It’s fine when you have a girlfriend because I know I have somewhere to fit into your life. You have a girlfriend, but then I’m still your best friend. It’s different when some guy comes along, especially someone like Isaac. He’s your boyfriend and he’s also your best friend. A part of me wonders what you even need me for anymore.”

Scott opened his mouth but looked to Stiles before he said anything. Stiles nodded. “Stiles, I’m always going to need you. It doesn’t matter who I’m dating.”

“But you said it yourself. Isaac and I are so much alike.” Stiles added.

“That doesn’t matter.” Scott turned to him. “Yeah, you have a lot of similarities, but you’re so different in so many ways. I love Isaac, but he’s not the person who held my hand every night after my dad left and snuck into my room every night and played video games with me and made me laugh until I puked. He’s not the guy who stood by me when I became something I couldn’t even understand. When I became a werewolf, you didn’t run away when anyone else might have. You helped me understand who I was. You helped me survive.” Scott grabbed Stiles’ shoulders and looked into his eyes. “Stiles, you’re not just my best friend, you’re my brother. Nothing will change that.”

Stiles’ lips twitched up into a full-blown smile. Scott hugged him. 

Scott pulled back and frowned a bit. “I think I should apologize.”

Stiles’ head reared back. “For what?”

“After what happened with Allison, I wanted to be a better friend the next time I was in a relationship. I didn’t want to shut you out, so I tried to make you and Isaac spend time together. I shouldn’t have forced it. I know you have issues with Isaac and I should have made time for it to be just the two of us.”

“I’m just glad that you’re not shutting me out.” Stiles said. 

“Still, if you want we can have that marathon we were supposed to have weeks ago and it’ll just be me and you.”

“I appreciate that Scott, but I think I have a better idea.”

~*~

Isaac wasn’t going to eavesdrop. It was an accident. It wasn’t his fault he had super hearing. Well, technically, he did say yes to the bite so it kind of was his fault...Anyway, he only heard a snatch of conversation between Scott and Stiles, enough to know that they were patching up their friendship.

It honestly made him happier than he would have expected anything involving Stiles to make him. He didn’t know exactly what this meant for him and Scott, but he refused to think the worst.

He decided to make himself scarce so Stiles and Scott could catch up. He decided he would go out and get something to eat.

He headed down the stairs, just as Stiles and Scott started to head up.

Isaac smiled down at Scott and nodded politely to Stiles as he met them in front of the stairs. 

“Where are you going?” Scott asked.

“I’m kind of hungry and I don’t feel like making anything. So I’m just going to head out.” Isaac explained.

Stiles stepped between Isaac and Scott. “You don’t have to do that.” He looked back at Scott. “It’s important for Scott that you and I get along, so I think we should try and spend some time together - all three of us.”

“Really?” Isaac can’t help but be skeptical.

“Yeah,” Stiles chuckled. “Who knows, if things go well maybe it could lead to an enjoyable threesome.”

Both Isaac and Scott wrinkled their noses.

Stiles’ eyebrows shot up. “Clearly, I was joking. But screw you both, I would make an excellent threesome candidate.” He grumbled, but had a grin on his face. His expression eventually became more serious. “Isaac, I was really impressed that you came to my house and apologized.”

“You did that?” Scott asked in surprise.

Isaac just shrugged.

“It meant a lot what you said.” Stiles looked down at the floor. “Scott’s the best person I know and he’s a pretty good judge of character, if he loves you then…”

“You love me?” Isaac winked.

“Thank you, it was going to be a beautiful moment and you ruined it.” Stiles said as he shook his head in annoyance.

Isaac put up his hands. “Sorry I was just getting a little uncomfortable.”

Stiles grinned. “I was a little bit, too.”

Stiles shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “We don’t have to hug it out or anything, do we?” 

They both turned to Scott.

After a long, slow grin Scott shook his head. “No.”

Stiles and Isaac breathed a sigh of relief.

“So, what are we going to do?” Scott looked between the other two. “And don’t say threesome,” He pointed at Stiles.

Stiles held up his hands and laughed. “I thought we were going to do the marathon?”

Scott looked at the clock on his phone. “It’s kind of late to watch all four.”

Isaac cocked his head to the side. “So how about just one?”

Scott and Isaac shared a knowing smile.

Stiles looked at them both and a look of dawning horror came across his face. He backed up a little. “Oh, no.”

“Come on, it’s really not that bad.” Isaac argued. “Remember, you get to teach me the error of my ways. Plus, you can watch it and mock me for having bad taste.”

Stiles pursed his lips. “That is a strong selling point.”

“So…?” Scott asked.

Stiles heaved a dramatic sigh. “Let’s watch _The Last Stand_.

Scott and Isaac cheered.

Isaac kissed Scott’s cheek as he walked past him.

Stiles crinkled his nose. “Please, no PDA. Not in front of me. Not yet.”

Isaac rolled his eyes, but he supposed that was fine. This was new territory for all of them. He supposed baby steps were required.

Scott groaned. “Okay.” He then patted Isaac’s butt. Isaac laughed and Stiles glared at him. “What, that’s not PDA.” 

Stiles crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head.

Scott put his arm over Stiles’ shoulder and grinned. “Fine. Only because you’re my best friend.”

Stiles smiled genuinely and nodded. “I know.”

When they sat down on the sofa, Scott sat sandwiched in between Stiles and Isaac. Stiles only groaned once when Scott and Isaac tried to hold hands. But he didn’t insult Isaac and only glared at him once and he only made one more innuendo about a threesome. Baby steps.


End file.
